Message begins 32:40
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Nehemiah’s Purpose
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Aug 102014
The Guardian of Your Potential
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Apr 192014
Message begins at 43:12
Persistence Pays Off
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Aug 152011
Luke 18 : 1-8
1. Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,
2. saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man.
3. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’
4. For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man,
5. yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’”
6. And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said;
7. now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?
8. I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
NASB
This parable is an answer to those who have asked God something and you don’t seem to get an answer. You think God is just holding out on you; God is blessing and answering everyone else’s prayers but not mine. This can seem to be the case unless we understand prayer. Look at what Paul wrote to the Ephesians…
Ephesians 6 : 18
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
NASB
Two words I want to really focus in on- perseverance and petition. These are key components to effective prayer. Let’s define them…
- steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.
- a formal written request made to an official person or body (as a court or board)
- a written document signed by a large number of people demanding some form of action from a government or other authority
- a formally drawn request, often bearing the names of a number of those making the request, that is addressed to a person or group of persons in authority or power, soliciting some favor, right, mercy, or other benefit:
I cannot stress the importance of exercising this in our prayer life. You can’t be a lawyer and not know about making a “petition” and you cannot pray effectively without “petitioning”. Look at the third definition for petition where it states “…soliciting some favor, right, mercy, or other benefit:” If you have ever had a prayer answered it’s because you requested something God had already spoken as being a right or benefit- or because He gave you favor or mercy. A petition is a legal request to a government or authority based on rights or promises- when we pray we’re making a legal request to God based on rights…
Matthew 5 : 7
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
KJV
or benefit…
Psalm 103 : 2
Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;
KJV
Psalm 116 : 12
What shall I render to the LORD For all His benefits toward me?
KJV
Some may read this and at first think to themselves “I don’t have any rights… I’m just at God’s mercy because I am just a lowly servant who’s at His mercy.”
My reply to you would be the same as Job to His worthless friends, “What a help you are to the weak!”, he says sarcastically.
As a citizen you do have rights, why? Because that’s the way God setup His government system. Rights are for citizens and you have to understand your rights in order to have access to them. If God says in His word “blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” then you have to remind God of that in your prayers. He’s a King so if He says something it becomes law! So we pray…
“Lord, you see adversity coming against me from these individuals at work and the stress and humiliating situations I have found myself in; God I have shown mercy as my reaction to these things- I could have acted completely different in response to these events but I have remembered Your word “if I am merciful, I will obtain mercy“. So Father in Heaven I remind you of Your word and my right as a citizen- because I have shown mercy, mercy shall I obtain.”
Praise God! I’m telling you if you find yourself in need of a prayer like this and you petition God with your request in this manner, you will begin to see favor come upon you from those around you and even from those in positions of authority. God will turn their persecution into shame because you have laid claim to the right of mercy. THIS IS POWERFUL! THIS IS A TRUE PRACTICE OF FAITH!
Faith is the strength of your convictions, in the time of testing, that His word is true. That means no matter how bad things get, you believe His word and that it will prevail. If you can get understanding of this, trials will be something to weather rather than something sent to destroy you. God knows your benefits and rights… He’s the one that created them when He spoke them- He just wants you to believe His word enough, that you will remind Him of His promise and then wait for the answer.
Now back to my first scripture
Luke 18 : 1-8
1. Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,
2. saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man.
3. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’
4. For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man,
5. yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’”
6. And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said;
7. now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?
8. I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
NASB
This is an area where we overlook much of the time. We expect to pray once and see results immediately. It’s OK to pray and expect- in fact the bible encourages this- but when you don’t see results and you know you’re in line with His word in your request- you must continue to petition. Jesus gave us this example about this widow woman. He says to continue and press in on the Lord for your request. If in the parable this evil man gave in because he didn’t want to be wore out by her constant pleas- how much more will God answer your request when you continue to request of Him your petition. IT EVEN SAYS WILL HE DELAY A LONG TIME TO ANSWER HIS ELECT YOU CRY OUT DAY AND NIGHT! WOW!
BUT when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth… That’s another article for another day…
Continue to request and petition day and night unto the Lord- He will answer. Don’t give up! I could go into the Jewish culture of how a child must ask his father three times to get a yes- but I’ll leave you with this to meditate on. But BE WARNED if you request and petition something of God day and night be ready to receive it. If you’re asking for direction, an answer, for God to use you, for your purpose- He’s going to give it you- so don’t ask anything unless you’re ready to use what He gives you.
-For The Kingdom
The Wheat Must Die
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Apr 142011
John 12: 20-26
20. Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast;
21. these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
22. Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus.
23. And Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
24. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
26. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”
NASB
What is our priority in life?
What comes first in your life?
What is left undone so that we fulfill that purpose?
What personal desire is left void so that the most important purpose is complete?
Jesus states here: “…unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone…”
Wheat grain is useful. Wheat grain is the leading source of vegetable protein in human food. Wheat is used for fuel, flour for breads, contains vitamins and minerals, and used in a variety of other applications. So wheat is not bad; in fact it’s second to rice in consumption.
But if an entire wheat harvest is consumed… then it can only bring out the potential that the one harvest of wheat has to offer… which is extremely limited! If it remains alone… that’s all you have. This is not proper management of resources.
Let’s say it’s the beginning of spring and a farmer has barely survived the winter with his rations of crops. He has remaining 100 vegetable seeds; he’s hungry now. He could focus on the present and boil the seeds and eat them, but the seeds only serve todays need… what about tomorrow? What about the summer or fall? If the farmer is smart, though he’s hungry now, he can plant the seeds and bring out the potential of the seeds. Each seed has an entire plant inside of it… with more seeds; and more plants. He has 100 of them! That’s a lot of potential. However that potential will not come to fruition just because it’s possible; it takes a commitment to work and delaying the ‘now’ for the ‘later’.
Back to the wheat, Jesus said unless a grain of wheat dies it remains alone. Wheat is good, it’s a need, but it must die to bring forth abundance. We have a lot of “wheat” in our lives. There are some things… yeah you can maintain and build up and ultimately have but is it the best use of your time? Is Kingdom purpose lacking because of this other thing? I know you like that television show, but turn it off and read the King’s word and discover something He wants you to know for His purpose. I know you like to sleep on Sunday morning, but let that wheat die and assemble yourself with believers and contribute your gift to others.
You get $1,000 dollars. $100 dollars by Kingdom law is automatically God’s. But if you decide… “I could do a lot with this wheat… I’m going to get a new outfit.” You have just chose that the maintaining of the wheat, what is in your possession right now, is more important than the Kingdom. The consequence of this decision is that what you have now, is the only thing you’ll have because you’ve excluded yourself from the Kingdom, from its rights, benefits and responsibility by claiming independence. What a tragedy… to trade the entire government of heaven for $100 dollars. That wheat doesn’t look so good now, does it?
Let’s look at the rest of the verse… “but if it dies, it bears much fruit.“ When the wheat falls to the ground and gets into the soil and dies it’s multiplying itself many times! This is amazing! God put every fruit bearing tree with it’s seed in itself, so it can multiply into many more. Man cannot recreate such an idea! If they could there would be petroleum farms everywhere reproducing an infinite amount of oil to burn for centuries to come… but they can’t. If I could I would be burying $1 dollar bills around my yard and waiting for the crop to come up and bring in a harvest of plenty; but I can’t. Everything God makes, He gives it the ability and the commandment to multiply. He gives it the ability to fulfill its purpose by serving its gift to the world… even you!
Let’s continue to the next verse… “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.”
You may love that wheat, it might be nice to have, to show off. But that wheat may be holding you back from a greater abundance. If you allow something to die, to lose priority, to go to 2nd or 3rd place in your life- it might be hard initially- but you will realize it wasn’t the sustainer of everything else in your life.
I like this next part “…and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.” Now most religious people will say “You have to hate your life on earth in order to go to heaven.” This is completely incorrect and well… religious thinking. The word “world” here is translated from the Greek word “kosmos“. The “world” is not earth. Kosmos is not earth. Kosmos is the government body that is in place, the authority to which others are under subjection to, for constituting their affairs. So let’s break this down…
This world, kosmos, says its priorities are land, a big house, an expensive car, a tailored outfit and a big bank account. But God’s world, kosmos, says your priority is the Kingdom. (Matthew 6:33)
ATTENTION! Notice I did not say that it’s wrong to have land, a big house, an expensive car, a tailored outfit or a big bank account… it just cannot be your priority. In fact Jesus is telling us in Matthew 6:33 that it should not be. Jesus was not even leaving it to us to decide what our priority list should be… he clearly states (paraphrase) “Your number one priority, the most important thing in your life should be, do not put anything ahead of, this should not come second to, you must seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.”
That’s pretty straight forward, yes? We spend our time preoccupied with the wheat… Trying to get wheat, trying to gain more wheat, trying to add to the wheat we have, trying to maintain our current stock of wheat, trying to secure available wheat… And God is saying ‘Why are they working so hard for wheat? I know they need wheat- just seek my Kingdom first!’ Why? Read on… “…and all these things shall be added unto you.” We’ve got it backwards. We’re so busy trying to maintain scraps… if we’ll die to what this world, kosmos, says is important and has as a priority- “…will keep it to life eternal.” WOW! This is stating we’ll have it AND the other! In His kingdom is no lack, just quit trying to maintain “the wheat” in your life, use that time focusing on the Kingdom first and then all that other stuff it chases you!
Jesus loved life on earth. He loved it so much that in the garden He prayed “…if it’s possible for this cup to pass from Me then let it pass.” But first the Kingdom, His purpose. Jesus, God in the flesh, was doing what was a desire of His heart since Eden… fellowshipping with Man. However, Jesus knew that it would be temporary if He didn’t fulfill His purpose and pave the way for Man to be reconciled with the Kingdom of Heaven. So He, being the wheat, laid down His own desire, His own will and died… so that fruit could bear, His Children could be reconciled to life eternal with Him. Do you see this? I pray your eyes and heart be opened to this revelation. Wheat is good- Jesus desired to stay with the disciples, desired to live. But to maintain this wheat, He would only have them a little while and then they would be gone… then He would remain alone… just like the wheat that didn’t die. But He chose against the immediate gratification, the temporary desire and died, beared much fruit and re-birthed a citizenry blessed of His Father to inherit the Kingdom of God! (Matthew 25:34) The desire He had still will be and IS… but will now be eternal… forever- without end… because He allowed the wheat to die.
Is there something in your life that has been put ahead of the Kingdom? You might not have put it there on purpose… but just because we say the Kingdom is first doesn’t make it first. We must examine our lives, our actions, our attitudes and our motives and line them up with the Kingdom FIRST. Let the wheat fall and the Kingdom be exalted.
-For The Kingdom
Order Gives Fulfillment
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Sep 202010
Alright, so here is a very well known scripture- but one we must remind our self of constantly.
1 Corinthians 14:40
Let all things be done decently and in order.
KJV
How many successful businesses do you know of that are in complete disorder when it comes to their bookkeeping, inventory, staffing, tax filing or other important areas. I’m not talking about “John’s Peaches” on the side of some random road. I’m talking about a proven business that has went through the ups and downs of the market and has sustained profitable results through these trying times. Probably zero or very few… and of the few they are most likely borderline bankrupt. It just doesn’t happen.
One of the greatest feelings in life is going to work or your place of business and fulfilling a needed duty for which you receive compensation in the form of green paper. That little green paper is earned for providing a service or skill that benefited others. When at work most of us enjoy that feeling of doing something important while earning those monetary notes- But there is also something we may not realize or be constantly aware of while doing our jobs that is a reward in and of itself, and that is the order of our environment. We often don’t give much thought at work about where to find a pen, pad of paper, find a proper place to work on a laptop, or other trivial necessity. We need a pen, it’s in the desk- need a pad of paper, on the left side of the desk… For some reason it just isn’t as smooth at home all the time. I don’t know how many times I have found myself yelling to my wife in desperation “Where’s a pen!?! I need a pen !?! …oh thanks… Where something to write on?!?”
I cannot always control where things are in the house, as there is usually more than one hand on them in any given day, but something far more important I can control is my time. God is a God of order and we being His creation in His image should realize we need to act in like manner. If we’re His children, why do we think we can go without having order in our life and expect successful results? I mean… He’s GOD! He does everything decently and in order. He does everything in proper time. Even Jesus came “when the time had fully come”.
Just so there is no confusion, I am not talking about scheduling every minute of a service down to the final 2 minute warning with prayer before the buzzer and we all leave and go eat chicken. No, no, no- that’s programming God out of our service and that’s another writing for another day.
But God does expect us to make the best use of our time as His citizens.
Hebrews 9:27
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
KJV
Judging from this scripture, I have so much time on earth while I am in this body. I know I have purpose to fulfill and I need to be about my work and getting things done. I don’t have a “heavenly slot machine” by which I can win life tokens for extra years, I don’t have a pause button for life, and God doesn’t plan on rewinding what has passed just so I can get a do-over for time wasted. So I have to do the best with what I have. But how many times do we come home from our orderly jobs, with our tightly knit agendas that use every ounce of time to its fullest, only to sit down on the couch and think about all the things we need to get done but become tired just thinking about it? Uncompleted tasks, projects, potential ideas keep piling up… but the only thing we succeed at is FAILING TO ACT! Sometimes we try, but we start one thing only to get scatter brained while thinking about the other things we need to do… and we often go to bed thinking “I just can’t get caught up around here.”
Well remember who you are- you were made in His image AND in His likeness. It is not natural for you to be disorderly. You cannot run a company like this, so why do you think you can get positive results in your life without order? I had someone recently tell me “I just can’t find time to read… I’m too busy” The reason we can’t find time to read is the same reason we can’t find time to pray, we don’t make time. We have to appoint times and bring order to our life. Prayer is the most important thing a citizen of the kingdom can do each day… yet it is often neglected… and we wonder where is God and why can I not get anything done. Because your life is out of order.
King David was bringing the Ark of the Covenant to his place and decided to have it brought on a cart, which was not the way God had told them to transport it. When the ark began to fall, Uzza tried to stop it and touched the ark and he died. After a few months of leaving the ark at Obededom’s, David acted differently in his approach to this task…
1 Chronicles 15: 12-13
12) And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it.
13) For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.
KJV
Sometimes God will allow affliction to come on you, because it’s the only way to get His stubborn children in line with His plan. So prayer is a daily necessity in bringing complete satisfactory order to our day. Notice I did not say just “order” but “satisfactory order”. That’s because you may get results because of a well structured plan, but you’ll be missing a key component to your personal satisfaction and any results can only be sustained temporarily with a “no prayer agenda”. And yes, you need to assign times for prayer. I love God with all my heart and have seen great and mighty things, but I have yet to have the Holy Spirit in the form of a cloud pick me up out of my bed, float me out of my room to a solitary place, wake me up gently and say “Please pray…” I have times He gets my attention but the majority of the time it is a discipline… and one we definitely need to work on.
So make time be what you want it to be, grab a hold of it and bring order to it. Assign tasks to your morning and evening and you will see great rewarding results and feel accomplished at the end of the day. I am convinced that the primary reason for this feeling of accomplishment is because you are in right standing with the kingdom and in the King’s favor when you dominate your life. (Genesis 1:26). You’re acting just like your Daddy… in Heaven.
Start today, get a pad of paper and assign what you will do each day. It doesn’t have to be perfect- AND don’t just “think” what you want to do because that’s why we’re doing this exercise in the first place. Your mental agenda has a way of rescheduling indefinitely. So WRITE IT DOWN, and you can adjust as needed after a few days. An example would be…
6:00AM: Wake up / Pray
6:30AM: Get Ready
7:00AM: Leave for Work – School – Etc
–Blah–Blah–Blah–
6:00PM Arrive Home – Relax
6:30PM: Cook
7:00PM: Exercise – Shower
8:00PM: Read Book
8:30PM: Study Bible
9:00PM: Free Time
This is just an example and time durations for certain things will vary but- TRY IT! Write it down, commit to it, and follow through for 21 days so it becomes a habit. If you don’t like it, you can always go back to procrastinating- it will welcome you with slothful arms.
But kingdom citizens are not lazy, they ACT, and their diligence brings reward.
For The Kingdom!
Purpose of Prayer – Lesson 2
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Sep 062010
Continuing with the study on the purpose of prayer, we dive into scripture that will bring understanding to God’s purpose for mankind for communication through prayer. This lesson will help you to begin understanding, why should we pray?
Credibility
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Aug 312010
Genesis 22:12
And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
KJV
I find this verse to be something of high interest to me. God knows all things, can do all things and is all things. Sometimes we wonder or ask…
“Why will God not use me in this area?”
“Why will God not talk to me like He did to the prophets of old?”
The enemy loves for us to feel alone or deserted when we ponder these questions to ourselves. But always remind yourself of who you are to God. God knows what He has called us to do and the purpose He has created each one of us for, before the foundation of the world. He knows you. He knows His thoughts toward you and what He is going to do through you. We get excited about this and think…
“Yes Lord! I’m ready! Put it on me!”
What we don’t want to hear though is about all the stuff in between the “now” and the “then” that we are going to have to go through to be prepared for what He called us to do. We confuse this “preparation time” as being abandoned by God sometimes.
See, God loved us as much as possible before the beginning even was. But He has to develop our intimacy with Him. We develop our intimacy, and ultimately our credibility, with God through spending time with Him in prayer, reading the word and studying the word (yes there is a difference), fasting (do you do this?), worship, actions, mentality, words…
How is your credibility with God? God will never give someone more then they can manage. He will never give you something just because you ask for it- but only what you can handle. It’s time to take assessment of your standing with Him.
[Scenario]
You have 3 maxed out credit cards, drive a car way outside of your pay scale, rent an apartment you cannot afford, eat out everyday and night, buy unnecessary amounts of clothing (I know it hurts), live beyond your means… and you’re asking God to bless you financially? A bank will not even give you a loan, which they love to do, and you think God will?
I hate to break it to you, but it’s not going to happen. If God blessed you without you changing your ways He would be violating His word; And God never violates His word. I will point again to the parable of the talents. They were all given a certain number of talents, according to their ability. Two did wisely, but one mismanaged. When the owner returned He took away even the 1 talent the servant had, called him wicked and cast him out. Did you hear that?!? He called him “wicked”! Mismanagement is wicked!
Anything God gives us, He expects us to add value to it. I pray the Holy Spirit will open your understanding of this. The Lord is the Owner… OF EVERYTHING! From the earth we live in, the shoes we’re wearing to the blood pumping through our body- He owns it all. So if we don’t own it, we can only manage it.
He expects us to add value to what He has given us to manage. If you take your paycheck and blow it every week, you’re not adding value to it, but are consuming it. This is not only things of monetary value, but even your body. If you take in all those fast food restaurants every single day, you are destroying your heart and internal organs. Remember, anything you mismanage you lose…
Assess your life- what are you doing with what God has given you? He will not give you more to mismanage if you have consumed what He entrusted to you in the first place. God will even give the riches unto the wicked if the righteous cannot manage it. (Proverbs 13:22)
Call order to your life. Add value to what God has given you, and you will see God open up more to you. Look again at Abraham and Isaac.
Genesis 22:12
And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
KJV
Did God not know? Of course He did. But Abraham had to know. He couldn’t lead with confidence and follow in faith if he had any doubts. He was being developed all the way up the mountain. Can you imagine the war going on in his mind? But his faith was sealed, his relationship with God grew, and his credibility with God was increased.
Where are you?
The Lord’s Prayer 06
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Jul 222010
Luke 11:2
…Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
KJV
Luke 11:2
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
NKJV (Emphasis Added)
Oh this is my favorite part! We want the kingdom of heaven to come and His will to be done- where? On Earth- how? Just as it is in heaven! Look at this powerful statement in the bible! We’ve read this, we’ve prayed this prayer- but we didn’t understand what we were saying most of the time. We thought it was just a nice simple prayer we would quote- but this is a HUGE petition. Remember the disciples had asked Jesus to teach them how to pray and so, Jesus made sure to teach them this.
There is a reason God put us on earth. There is a reason He made you and then made you a body and then put you in the body and breathed life into you. The bible says all things came out of God (John 1), so if He wanted you to stay in heaven he would not have put you in a body on the earth. God put you here for a reason, and gave you dominion over the earth for a reason. (Genesis 1:26) He wanted earth to become just like heaven. He wanted earth to be impacted with the culture of heaven. Lord, let your kingdom come on earth, let your will be done on earth, just like it is in heaven let it be so in the earth!
That was God’s original desire. He gave man dominion over the earth and He walked and talked with man- but then man (Adam) disobeyed and rebelled against God and declared independence from heaven. So we became a corrupt and self destructive kingdom. But God’s plan didn’t change. Look at this!
1 Samuel 8
4. Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
5. And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
6. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.
They still didn’t get it! God had not changed His purpose, but the people still rebelled against God’s plan. Look what God says.
1 Samuel 8:7
And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
They chose to learn the hard way. Look at the people’s comparison of why they wanted a ‘man’ king to judge and rule over them… “like all the nations“.
My God, we have not drifted far from this mentality today. We try to compare what we think we need with what we see others have… even though what they have isn’t working. Am I talking to anybody out there? Man rejects God for His own destructive independence. I pray it not be named among you from this day forward.
We need His kingdom to come- to earth! What does religion teach? “Let us leave earth and go to the kingdom of heaven.” Is that what you believe? Now, does that line up with how Jesus taught how to pray? Let Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done- on earth just as it is in heaven. So God wants us to pray heaven down to earth. He wants earth to become just like heaven.
In the Caribbean there is an island called Hispaniola. Christopher Columbus landed on Hispaniola on his voyage between 1492 and 1493. Columbus took possession of the land and named it “La Isla Española” which means “The Spanish Lady”. The name was later shortened and re translated as “Hispaniola”. Spain’s interest in the island was not priority and became increasingly under attack by pirates. As the colonies of Spain were ordered to draw in closer to the area known as Santo Domingo this gave way to pirates making establishments on the island. In 1665 the French colonization on the west side of the island was recognized. Spain ceded the land to the French and the west side became known as modern day “Haiti” while the east side of the island became known as modern day “Dominican Republic”. For comparisons sake, Hispaniola is roughly a tenth of the size of the state of Texas in the U.S. …only a tenth. Yet it is split into two countries.
Why is this significant to the Lord’s Prayer? The history and current state of this island shows you the impact of a government on a place. Regardless of its size- because it was colonized by two different kingdoms- they are completely different in every way. When I was there in January of 2010, we went into Haiti about two weeks after the earthquake, into Port-au-Prince. We stopped at one point to confirm directions to the place we were dropping off the food. A boy come up to us and started talking to our friend and interpreter, Junior. Junior was born and had lived in Dominican his whole life. I asked him what the guy said and he said he can’t tell- he’s speaking Creole. One small island, a tenth the size of Texas, yet they are worlds apart from each other. Two different languages, two different cultures, two different ways of life. Because of the impact of culture from the French and from Spain almost 400 years ago, these two countries are totally different from each other today. If the king of Spain had not made the colonies settle close to Santo Domingo, but secure the whole island- they would all be speaking Spanish today. But because of this incident in history, two different kingdoms affected the culture of the island differently… and it can still be seen today.
Look at this world… economies collapse, people are hurting, people are in poverty, people are lacking resources… we need the kingdom of heaven to impact the earth. We need heaven’s culture, God’s ways, to become our culture… our ways. In Haiti they still drink wine and eat cheese as a social norm because the French did. They speak French and Creole because the French did. In Dominican Republic they speak Spanish because Spain did. When a place is colonized by a kingdom, it takes on the nature, characteristics, and culture of that kingdom. The earth needs to be filled with God’s nature. As it is in heaven, let it be in the earth.
There is no sickness in heaven, let it be in the earth-
There is no disease in heaven, let it be in the earth-
There is no lack in heaven, let it be in the earth-
There is no poverty in heaven, let it be in the earth… just as it is in heaven.
When we understand this concept of prayer and what these words mean- we then understand the impact our prayers have on the earth, because we actually pray heaven down to earth, colonizing the earth, his citizens infiltrating the earth until earth becomes just like heaven. That’s why God said “whatever we bind on earth, now heaven can bind- and whatever we loose on earth, now heaven can loose.” We’ve been put here as representatives, ambassadors of heaven, impacting the earth with the culture, purpose, intent and ways of the king. This is why we are “in the world but not of the world” (John 17:16-18). We’re from another place, placed here to colonize the earth. Pray heaven down! Pray His kingdom come, His will be done- on earth just as it is in heaven.
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Purpose of Prayer – Lesson 1
Kingdom Awakening, Video
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Jul 092010
This is message 1 of the Kingdom Study Series on Prayer. In this message we explore the question “Why do we pray?” We first have to review God’s purpose which will open up questions we have all asked our self. There is a reason for prayer… as kingdom citizens, it’s time we discover what it is. Understand the purpose of prayer, and you can finally pray with purpose.
Destroying Evidence
Articles, Embassy Epistles
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Jun 242010
Have you ever felt you were wronged by someone in a way that it came against your character?
Ever felt like you were trying to prove who you were? And just when you did- someone tries to destroy the very thing that finally displayed beyond a shadow of a doubt you are who you say you are.
Well, I have good news for you, so did Jesus. I want you to take a look at this verse.
John 12
9) Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.
10) But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death;
11) Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.
Wow! What a revelation this can be in our own life. Someone is going to read this next part and be uplifted and encouraged.
You may have had people come against you in the past, but don’t worry so did Jesus. These things must happen- because remember He said “No servant is greater than his master, they persecuted Me, they will persecute you”. The pharisees spent so much time trying to disprove who Jesus was- because they didn’t want to acknowledge Him. They even went as far as trying to destroy the very thing that proved He was who He said He was.
In law this would be called ‘destroying evidence’. When you are leading, when you are triumphing in life, when favor is upon you- people will come against you because you’re rising- don’t be surprised when this happens, in fact expect it. People will try to destroy the evidence of your calling… of your work.
They may even be the ones you wouldn’t expect. They may dress the part, have the robes, hold the office, have the title- but their deeds are not kingdom intent. The pharisees were more worried about losing “members’ than pleasing God. Members and worship of the letter of the law was all they had. Jesus came to fulfill the spirit of the law and brought what they couldn’t… results. So they consulted to destroy the evidence.
Do not fear what man can do to you though. They can only- HEAR ME! – They can ONLY do what is allowed for them to do by our God in heaven. We have nothing to prove. The evidence of our lives will speak volumes.
I love this kingdom!
